What's going on in the world today?

It's June 21st, I'm watching House just started season 6.  I'll need a new show to binge soon.  I'm hoping Peacock will have something new.  Soooo, last night Trump had a rally.  I haven't read anything about it yet but I'll assume it was narcissistic, slightly paranoid and fact free for the most part.  The rage of African Americans continues to run but at a slightly less violent rate.  I know it's wrong to think this being as I am neither black or a parent but we teach kids to "use their words" when angry and they get in trouble if they don't use their words and instead use their physical attributes.  "A riot is the language of the unheard" we are told.  I don't know about that.  The movie White Men Can't Jump taught me that I can listen to Jimi but I can't hear Jimi.  So if I can never know the plight of any other race or sex or person other than myself, you know the whole walk in another person's shoes thing, I will never understand their plight.  So if those that want or need change don't have solutions then things won't change.  De-funding the police seems to be an interesting idea.  The 911 system can be used to better identify the type calls and who should be sent.  Guns are not necessary for most of these calls so either the police need to evolve with the times or accept their reduced role in society.

Mark Says: Thoughts on Reality

I have a weird fascination with people and their thinking process sometimes.  Maybe this is because I'm an atheist and live in America with such a majority of our society being religious.  I am fan of and an admirer of Matt Dillahunty, especially his quote (mantra?) of "I want to believe as many true things and as few false things as possible."  So when I hear this quote I tend to have this type of thought process:

Is the subject part of this reality?  I would, in general, hope that we can all say we live in one reality.
Do I accept this truth claim thus creating a belief.  Is the claim demonstrable in it's ability to our reality?  If so, it remains a belief; if not then I must change or disregard my belief to the purported truth of the matter.  What if I maintain my belief irregardless of the connection to reality?  Then this is no longer a belief but a delusion.  What about faith?  I would argue that faith has no place in clear thinking.  That once you accept on faith you are no longer tied to reality.  You have closed the door on thinking and are, in my opinion, the definition of closed mindedness.

What if I had a belief that I was the tallest person on earth?  Well as long as I do not meet anyone or am provided information that contradicts that belief then it remains a belief.  If it is contradicted then that belief must obviously be disregarded or it becomes a delusion.  I do not believe that belief is a choice in this regard.  The reality and truthfulness of something doesn't matter if I believe or not.  Gravity doesn't care if I don't believe in it, I can't believe that the fruit known as an orange is a color known as purple.  These realities don't care about my beliefs, they are true.

The funniest part of this thinking is that explaining this entire process in regards to the subject of human-like life elsewhere in the universe, I think most people understand.  Sadly, when the subject is religious it all goes out the window.

Mark says: Media

Media sources I like to read:

The Big Picture - Barry Ritholtz

The Reformed Broker - Josh Brown

The Atlantic

Politico

Vox

Podcasts I like to listen:

The Skeptics Guide to the Universe - Science and skeptisism

Cognitive Dissonance - Atheism / News

Masters in Business - Barry Ritholtz

Pod Save America - Liberal news commentary

The Thinking Atheist - Atheism

Gimlet Media - Reply All and others

Mark says: Have a plan

     As I said before I have a high interest in personal finance (PF).  I'm often searching many different financial blogs or forums for ideas or to hear the thought process of other people with knowledge regarding the subject.  Sometimes I learn something new, sometimes I disagree, most of the time I find that my initial idea was correct or with the consensus of other PF writers.
     So how do I approach my finances?  From here forth I will lay out my philosophy and how I implement these into my world.  I think the first thing to do is to make a plan.  Five year plan, ten year, twenty year it doesn't matter it is all changeable.  The biggest thing is to put something down.  If you don't something to keep yourself accountable then how can you know if you are making progress?
   There are all sorts of plans to think about.  Graduate school, buy a house, get married, have a kid, have another kid, have a midlife crisis, retire not necessarily in that order.  I myself only have two of these things on my list and the last is still two decades away.  I still have a plan and I still check my progress on occasion.  I check monthly to be honest, probably overkill but I keep track of my end of month balances so it is easy to update the progress.
   In the end Yogi Berra was right.  If you don't know where you are going, you might not get there.  Till later.

Mark says: Hello

Good Day All,

So a few years ago I was seeing a therapist and she indicated writing down my thoughts would be good for me.  So here I go...albeit a bit late for my therapist.  What to expect on this blog. 

1. Poor grammar, I write like I speak which isn't grammatically correct.  
2. Infrequent posts.
3. My interest:
1. Personal finance
2. Baseball
3. Politics; I'm liberal
4. Religion; I'm an atheist.
5. College basketball

 I'll get to a basic write up regarding all of the above at some point in the near future.  Until then.

Regards,

Mark